Book

Thirty-One Nil: On the Road with Football's Outsiders

Name: Thirty-One Nil: On the Road with Football's Outsiders
Author: James Montague

James Montague

2014

James Montague · 2014 · UK

Follows the qualifying journeys of football's minor nations chasing a place at the World Cup.

A rare travelogue giving voice to football's overlooked and marginal footballing nations.

The Historian

Montague's chronicle, Thirty-One Nil, occupies a niche within the broader narrative of international football. As an outsider's perspective, it recalls the pioneering works of sports historians like Arthur Hopcraft and Simon Kuper, who sought to humanize the stories behind the beautiful game. Montague's work preserves the triumphs and struggles of nations often lost in the global football landscape.

The Psychologist

Thirty-One Nil" offers a poignant exploration of the human desire for belonging, particularly in the context of national identity. By immersing himself with these smaller nations, Montague reveals how fans' emotions are intensely tied to their countries' performances, exemplifying the psychological concept of social identification theory.

The Sceptic

Montague's account focuses on smaller nations' struggles, but doesn't challenge the global hierarchy he documents. His narrative often relies on familiar tropes of underdog determination and cultural difference, reinforcing a binary between "minor" and dominant nations. This portrayal may inadvertently perpetuate the very marginalization it seeks to illuminate.

These are interpretations written in three voices, not quotations from any individual.

Language: English
Length: 320 pp
Subject: World Cup qualifying's smallest nations
Region: Europe
Tone: Light
Difficulty: Familiar

Bloomsbury; paperback

In print

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